Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Among the graves in St. Colmcille's churchyard, Swords, Fingal, Ireland which are connected to the matrilineal side of my family tree stands this headstone erected to the memory of my great-great granduncle Andrew J. Kettle, son of Thomas Kettle and Alice O'Kavanaugh Kettle and brother to my maternal great-great grandmother Mary Kettle Fitzpatrick.

Andrew J. Kettle was born September 1833 near Swords at Drynam. He was one of the founding members of the Land League, which fought to obtain for Irish farmers, the three 'F's: Fixity of Tenure, Fair Rent, and Free Sale. He worked very closely with Isaac Butt and Charles Stewart Parnell, and in time came to be known as Parnell's right hand man.

In 1879, Kettle presided over the inaugural meeting of the Land League in Dublin at which Charles Stewart Parnell was appointed president. Kettle was appointed as its first treasurer and secretary. During the Land League campaign, he was imprisoned in Kilmainham for six months. In 1881 he was one of the signatories of the “No Rent Manifesto". His epitaph, written by his son Tom was, “None served Ireland better, few served her as well”. Andrew J. Kettle died 22 September 1916. His memoir, "The Material for Victory", was edited and published posthumously by his son Lawrence J. Kettle. It provides many details about my family history on the matrilineal side.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Edward McCabe was born in Dublin 14 February 1816. He was educated at Father Doyle's school, Arran Quay, entered the seminary at Maynooth in 1833, and was ordained 24 June 1839. After serving successive curacies in Clontarf and the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, in 1856 McCabe was made parish priest of St. Nicholas Without in Dublin (Yes, the parish name is actually 'St. Nicholas Without' because it was outside the walls of Dublin City). Transferred to Kingstown in 1865 he served four years in a parish, eventually becoming vicar general. In 1877, suffering ill health, Cardinal Cullen called on McCabe to assist him. In 1878 Dr. McCabe was consecrated titular Bishop of Gadara, and upon the death of Cardinal Cullen in 1879, he became Archbishop of Dublin. He was 'given the red hat' (i.e. made a Cardinal) in 1882.

Edward Cardinal McCabe, like his predecessor Cullen, distrusted popular movements and in his public speeches often railed against rebels and agitation, pronouncing his support for the government and rule of law. Nationalist newspapers branded him a 'Castle Bishop', making reference to the British seat of rule at Dublin Castle, and marked him as an enemy of his own Irish people. His life was threatened and for a time he was under police protection. Cardinal McCabe died at his home in Dun Laoghaire 11 February 1885, three days before his 69th birthday.

The tomb which contains the mortal remains of the Cardinal is embellished with symbols, both Celtic and Christian. There are 8 angels on the mausoleum: 4 on top of the sarcophagus, (two at his head and two at his feet), and 4 on the roof of the mausoleum. On the floor there is an eagle emblem bearing the name Johannes, a symbol associated with the biblical evangelist John the Baptist. The two bird heads may be the Celtic symbols for geese which are used in Christian art as markers of singularity of thought. The double dragon heads on the outer wall may be emblematic of the reconciliation of the body and soul on Judgement day.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

A few yards inside the gate to Mount Jerome Cemetery, the main roadway takes you past many large and beautiful old monuments. The road is such that you stand slightly below ground level and are separated from the monuments by a hedge of grasses, bushes, and flowers. As I was walking along the road I saw this angel out of the corner of my eye on the right hand side. I walked back and climbed over and around several monuments to get to her. Her right arm is broken off, as is the top of her left wing. There is something so wistful and haunting about her countenance that I found it difficult to walk away from her. It is as though she is a young woman frozen in time.

Friday, September 17, 2010

This beautiful headstone was first erected to the memory of Alice Cogavin, age 13. An obituary for Alice appeared in the Irish Independent Newspaper, 6 November 1935. She died at Ireland's first hospice, Lady Mount in Harold's Cross; it is now called Our Lady Hospice. Founded by the Religious Sisters of Charity in 1879, the hospice is known for providing palliative care for TB victims in the 19th century, and also for people dying from auto-immune diseases in the 20th century. The Gaelic phrase in her obituary, "Go ndéanaidh Dia trócaire ar a h-anam", approximately translates to "May God have mercy on her noble soul".

Alice's family lived in Lawrencetown, County Galway, in the west of Ireland. It seemed curious that she would be buried in Mount Jerome, particularly because at the time of Alice's interment there were no other Cogavin family relations buried in Mount Jerome; however, her death at the nearby hospice explains, at least in part, the reason for her interment at Mount Jerome.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

In the quiet of the necropolis there are always markers of life continuing. This 'moving on', if you will, is manifested in notices which attempt to maintain order, pickets which promise perpetual maintenance, signs which serve as reminders of our ultimate end, and markers of special remembrance. Click on the photos to get a better view of the signs.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Irish patriot Daniel O'Connell died in Genoa, Italy 15 May 1847, and is buried in a splendid tomb beneath a round tower in Glasnevin Cemetery. In order to view a slideshow of 20 photographs of the tomb just click on this link or visit 'On a flesh and bone foundation: An Irish History'

Given the beauty of O'Connell's tomb one might imagine his family members would be interred in a similar fashion, if not quite so grand; however, that is not the case. In a room inside the tomb and to the left of O'Connell's 'altar' you will find the lead-lined coffins of ten family members, including his two sons, rather curiously 'stacked' one on top of the other. There are four very large coffins on the bottom and two on the top. Their names and dates are listed on a soiled piece of paper which hangs in a simple frame just outside the door, and they are described in terms of their relationship to "The Great Liberator".

Thursday, September 9, 2010

With its broken and disintegrating stones, and moss and lichen covered paths, the Victorian period cemetery of Mount Jerome in Harold's Cross, Dublin, Ireland feels like a place of loss. It serves as a stark reminder of the fact that all things pass away, even stone.

I spent just over seven hours in this cemetery on an early August day marked by very odd weather. In the morning (I arrived at 8:30 am) it was very cold, with strong gusting winds. At mid morning it was very wet, with rain lashing down for about thirty minutes. By the end of the afternoon it was very warm with bright crisp blue skies. Many sections of the cemetery have an autumnal feel to them because the ground is covered with dead leaves. It is as though summer has passed them by.

Opened in 1836 by Sir Robert Shaw of Bushy Park, Mount Jerome was the first privately owned cemetery in Ireland. Shaw established the General Cemetery Company of Dublin by an Act of Parliament in 1834. The newly formed company initially planned to open its cemetery in a section of Phoenix Park; however, this application was turned down by the authorities. Undeterred, the company bought the lands and house of Mount Jerome in Harold's Cross from the Earl of Meath, John Chambre, on 23 January 1836. Thus, the General Cemetery Company of Dublin became popularly known as Mount Jerome Cemetery.

Over 250,000 people of all faiths have been interred here over the last 170 years. Still in use, one is made aware of a funeral procession entering the grounds by an undertaker who pulls a thick rope to toll a loud and lonely sounding large brass bell which hangs near the front gate.

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Inspiration for this blog

As a social historian and 'graveyard rabbit', I am committed to preservation of the history we find in cemeteries. This blog is principally dedicated to cemeteries in Ireland, although I have included a few sights from North American cemeteries. Together with photos of headstones, grave markers, and other sights of beauty from the necropolis.